内容简介
ThePenguinEnglishLibraryEditionofHumphryClinkerbyTobiasSmollett'WhatisthesocietyofLondon,thatIshouldbetempted,foritssake,tomortifymysenses,andcompoundwithsuchuncleannessasmysoulabhors?'Smollett'ssavage,boisterouslyfunnylambastingofeighteenth-centuryBritishsocietychartstheunfortunatejourneyofthegout-riddenandirasciblesquireMatthewBrambleacrossBritain,whofindshimselfeverywheresurroundedbydecadents,pimps,con-men,raucousnessanddegeneracy-untilthearrivalofthetrustymanservantHumphryClinkerpromisestoimprovehisfortunes.Populatedwithunforgettablegrotesquesandwrittenwitharelishforearthyhumourandwordplay,andaferociouspessimism,HumphryClinkerisSmollett'smasterpiece.ThePenguinEnglishLibrary-100editionsofthebestfictioninEnglish,fromtheeighteenthcenturyandtheveryfirstnovelstothebeginningoftheFirstWorldWar.
作者简介
TobiasSmollett(1721-71)wastheverymodelofeverythingthatmade18th-centuryLondonlifesoenjoyable.BornandeducatedinScotland,hetrainedtobecomeasurgeonandsettledinJamaica.DuringtheWarofJenkins'EarhewasinvolvedinthecatastrophicBritishnavalassaultonCartagena,aneventheimmortalizedinhisveryfunnyfirstnovelRoderickRandom(1748).Hetriedandfailedtobalanceamedicalcareerandaliteraryone,eventuallysettlinginLondonandturningoutlessgoodnovels,journalismandhistory.YethewasoneoftheextraordinarygrouparoundSterne,GoldsmithandGarrickandwas,withFielding,oneofthemastersofthecomicpicaresquenovelwhichwouldsoinfluenceDickens.In1766hepublishedoneofthegreattravelbooks,TravelsinFranceandItaly,whichsingle-handedlylaunchedthegenreofthesplenetic,xenophobicandunreasonableBritonabroad.HumphryClinker,hismasterpiece,waspublishedjustbeforehisdeath.